International Cyberattack Affects Some Corners of U.S. Health Care, Including Medical Devices

The international cyberattack that swept the globe has had some impact on the U.S. health-care system, as hospital systems scramble to prevent its further spread.

On a conference call with health-care organizations Monday, U.S. federal officials said several medical devices had been infected with the ransomware that proliferated across dozens of countries, but declined to identify the devices, according to a person on the call. The Department of Health and Human Services, which organized the call, referred questions to Homeland Security, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an interview Sunday, a Homeland Security official said some U.S. health-care companies reported suspected or confirmed attacks involving the ransomware. The official declined to say whether hospitals were among those affected. The malware didn’t disrupt operations and mostly affected administration, a Homeland Security spokesman said Monday.

Cybersecurity experts across U.S. health care remained on alert through the weekend, racing to patch vulnerable computer networks and scanning for evidence of new variants of the malware known as WannaCry, which worms into computers through a vulnerability in Microsoft Corp. software. The malware encrypts files and demands ransom to release them.

The U.S.’s largest hospital operator, HCA Healthcare, hasn’t detected an impact from the cyberattack, a spokeswoman said. The Nashville, Tenn.-based company, which also owns six hospitals in the U.K., continues to monitor its networks, she said.

Northwell Health, which owns 18 hospitals and more than 550 outpatient centers in New York, gathered information security employees Saturday at a data center in Westbury, N.Y. to monitor the health system’s networks from banks of monitors that flashed status updates.

A growth-driven and strategic executive, Peter Coffaro commands more than 20 years of progressive management success within the medical device industry. As a District Sales Manager for Stryker Orthopaedics, Peter was responsible for managing and directing a regional sales force to achieve sales and profit goals within the Rocky Mountain region. Previously, he was the Director of Sales & Marketing for Amp Orthopedics. In this role, Peter was responsible for planning, developing, and leading all sales and marketing initiatives. Peter is a former orthopedic distributor in the Pacific Northwest. He has also worked with DePuy Orthopaedics as well as Zimmer, and held positions in sales, sales training, and sales management. Peter has an extensive background in organizational development, business development, sales management, negotiating and P&L management. Peter holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Northern Illinois University.

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(MassDevice) – A federal appeals court yesterday split up a sales rep poaching dispute between Stryker and DePuy Orthopaedics, sending some claims to a California district court and others to the federal court in New Jersey. […]

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